It was at that moment that Z placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "We should fly."
Chloe glanced at her, then immediately looked back toward the empty space where Liz had disappeared. Whatever was happening, Chloe was pretty sure she didn't like it, and that was usually a very good sign that something interesting was about to happen. "Uh, yeah. Okay."
Z spread her wings, Chloe followed a second later as her own wings manifested behind her, unfolding with a sudden whump that sent her hair fluttering around her face. Chloe gave them an experimental flap, lifting herself slightly off the ground.
The two of them rose into the air and passed through the entrance together, flying deeper into the Containment Area rather than risking whatever had happened to Liz by simply walking across the threshold. The moment Chloe crossed through, the scale of the facility became apparent, and she couldn't help staring.
The Containment Area looked like some bizarre futuristic prison designed specifically for keeping dangerous things locked away, which Chloe supposed was kinda the point. Tall metallic walls stretched far, lit up by thin strips of pale artificial light, while elevated walkways and transparent bridges connected different sections of the complex. Rows of containment cells lined the walls, each one separated by thick barriers of reinforced glass and glowing energy fields, with sleek panels beside every entrance that presumably controlled the doors, security systems, or some other incredibly complicated stuff Chloe definitely didn't understand. Everything was clean, sterile, and strangely quiet, the polished metal surfaces reflecting their lights back at them until the whole place seemed to glow with an eerie, artificial brightness.
Chloe slowly flew forward, turning her head from side to side as she examined the rows of cells. She drifted closer to one of the transparent barriers and looked inside, seeing how it was empty. She checked the next one, which was also empty. "Where is everybody?"
Z looked around the empty containment chambers. "There has to be more people deeper inside the complex. If Sierra, Raenof, and Greg were transferred here, they would not have disappeared so easily. We should proceed carefully."
"Yeah," Chloe agreed, though her voice came out a lot less confidently than she would have liked.
She hovered closer to Z until their shoulders were almost touching, then followed as the two of them began moving deeper into the Containment Area. At first, Chloe wasn't particularly worried. The place was creepy, sure, but creepy was manageable enough.
Except the deeper they went, the quieter everything became. The rows of empty cells gradually gave way to more heavily reinforced rooms, their transparent walls replaced by thick metallic doors covered in warning symbols that Chloe couldn't read. Some of the doors were scratched, others were dented, and one had several long gouges running across its surface that looked suspiciously like something had once tried very hard to claw its way out. Chloe stared at that one for several seconds before hurriedly looking away. "Uh... Z?"
"What is it?"
"Are you sure we're safe?"
"There are no threats nearby, as long as we stick together, we should be fine."
"Right, right, sure."
A few seconds later, something clanged somewhere far behind them. Chloe nearly jumped out of the air. She spun around so quickly that her wings flared outward, lightning crackling across her fingertips. "What was that?!"
Z looked over her shoulder. "Probably a piece of machinery."
"Oh."
Chloe slowly lowered her hands. They continued. A faint hiss came from one of the pipes overhead.
Chloe flinched.
"Steam," Z said.
"Right."
A light flickered somewhere in the distance, making Chloe immediately turn her head toward it. Before she could decide whether it was worth worrying about, a sharp metallic click echoed from a corridor to their left.
"Okay, that one definitely sounded like something." Chloe muttered.
Z paused for a moment, listening carefully before shaking her head. "It is only the facility's security systems."
"Oh, okay."
Chloe relaxed again, although she made a point of flying slightly closer to Z this time. She wasn't scared at all, duh. She was just doing the smart thing of being strategically cautious, because there was a very important difference between being scared and being smart enough to stay near the strongest person in the room.
At one point, a loose panel somewhere above them suddenly dropped with a loud metallic BANG! Chloe squeaked and flew behind Z, because wow, that was scary.
"Chloe, there's nothing to worry about."
"It surprised me."
"I noticed, but try to relax. If something attacks us, I will handle it."
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Chloe nodded, though she still didn't move away. "Yeah, I know."
That was the thing, Chloe trusted Z completely, which was probably the only reason she hadn't already started screaming every time a pipe made a funny noise. Eventually, the corridors opened into a long tunnel. Unlike the rest of the containment facility, this section was almost completely empty. Chloe and Z flew through it together, their wings beating softly as their movements echoed through the enclosed passage.
Then the tunnel opened, and Chloe emerged into an enormous circular hall and immediately slowed to a hover. "Whoaaa."
This particular part of the containment area was easily several times larger than the corridors they'd just passed through. It formed a vast circular intersection, with multiple tunnels branching away from its edges. Elevated platforms surrounded the upper walls, connected by walkways and suspended bridges, while enormous mechanical doors marked the entrances to different sections of the Containment Area. And standing directly in that center was a man, a very suspicious man.
He was tall and dressed in an immaculate black suit, his short blue hair neatly combed. His hands rested casually at his sides, while a pair of wings remained folded neatly behind his back. Chloe tensed as the man slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of familiar golden eyes. She knew that face and knew those eyes, this was Administrator A.
Something strange tingled in Chloe's mind the instant she looked at him, an instinctive warning crawling down her spine before settling deep in her stomach. She couldn't explain it, and she certainly couldn't say how she knew, but she knew this time was different. This was the real deal.
Administrator A's eyes moved between Chloe and Z. "You two have been violating company policy for long enough. Truthfully, I have been remarkably patient with you, but that patience has reached its limit."
"I'm afraid you have no idea what you're talking about." Z said.
Administrator A's expression barely changed. If anything, the faintest hint of contempt appeared behind his eyes. "On the contrary, it is you who appears to be clueless."
Chloe suddenly felt something touch her as a hand closed around the back of her neck. Her entire body went rigid as she felt fingers press against her skin, and for one second she couldn't understand what was happening. She hadn't even noticed anyone behind her. Then a familiar, cold voice spoke directly beside her ear.
"I'll deal with you later."
Chloe's eyes widened as the world seemed to tilt violently. Her vision suddenly washed out, the enormous containment hall, Z, Administrator A, and everything else around her disappearing beneath a featureless white emptiness. Chloe tried to move, tried to speak, tried to even figure out which direction was up, but her body no longer seemed to make any sense.
***
At first, there was only a vague sense of floating somewhere in the dark. Chloe couldn't see or hear anything, and she wasn't even entirely sure she was awake. Where am I?
Eventually though, Chloe started to regain more of her consciousness as her eyes finally opened. She stared blankly at the ceiling, her mind still struggling to catch up with the rest of her. Slowly, fragments of memory began returning to her.
She immediately sat upright and looked around, head turning from side to side as she tried to figure out where she'd ended up. It looked like she was in one of the containment cells she'd seen earlier, although this one looked considerably less impressive from the inside. Thick transparent barriers surrounded the chamber on all sides, glowing with lines of energy. There were no doors she could see and no obvious controls from the inside. Darn, how am I supposed to get out if this place?
Chloe had no idea how long she'd been unconscious. It could have been a few minutes, or an hour, or maybe even longer. She had no way of knowing, but she did know that Z was still out there somewhere, and so was Liz, assuming whatever had happened to her hadn't happened again. Chloe didn't know what Administrator A had done to her, but she knew she needed to get back to Z. Actually, she should probably find Liz too. They had entered this place together, and Chloe wasn't about to let everybody get separated because some stupid corporate jerk had decided to play kidnapping games.
With that thought in mind, Chloe marched toward the nearest wall and placed both hands against it. Okay, prison. You picked the wrong girl to lock up.
Chloe pulled one fist back and punched the barrier as hard as she could. The impact rattled through the cell, sending a sharp jolt up her arm. Chloe shook her hand afterward, more annoyed than hurt, and glared at the completely undamaged barrier.
She tried again, this time, Chloe backed up several steps before charging forward and slamming her shoulder into the wall. The impact sent her bouncing backward, and she landed on the floor with a rather undignified thump. She sat there for a moment, staring at the ceiling.
After recovering her dignity, Chloe got back to her feet and tried just about everything she could think of. She kicked the wall, punched it, blasted it with lightning, and even activated her Eyes of Dominion, pouring so much force into the barrier that the floor began to creak from the pressure, but absolutely nothing worked.
Eventually, Chloe stopped and glared suspiciously at the walls. "This is cheating."
She wandered over to another section of the cell and leaned closer, inspecting the transparent barrier as though she might somehow discover its secret by staring at it hard enough. Well, since she was kinda out of options, Chloe figured it was best to check if anyone else had ideas.
Chloe's gaze eventually drifted downward toward the cloak hanging around her shoulders. "Cloaky, you got any ideas?"
Cloaky seemed to understand her perfectly, because one of the shadowy hands slipped out from its folds and gave Chloe a very confident thumbs-up. "Wait, you do have an idea? Then tell me!"
Cloaky didn't answer, obviously, because Cloaky was a cloak and had certain limitations when it came to explaining things, but another shadowy hand emerged. It pulled out one of Commander Sirius's laser swords and held it out toward Chloe.
Seeing this, Chloe's face lit up as she eagerly took the weapon. "Oh, cool!"
She gave it an admiring little swing before looking back at Cloaky. "But... what do you want me to do with this?"
Cloaky's hand pointed downward, directly at the floor, before one finger began tracing a slow circular motion in the air. Chloe stared at the gesture for a few seconds, her expression slowly changing as the pieces finally clicked together. "Ohhh! You want me to cut through it!"
The shadowy hand gave her another enthusiastic thumbs-up. Chloe smiled as the hand slipped back beneath the cloak, leaving her alone with the laser sword. She immediately turned her attention toward the floor, raised the glowing blade, and brought it down. The sword sliced through the floor as easily as a hot knife through butter. Chloe's eyebrows shot upward as she drew a large circle beneath her feet, the severed section of flooring separating with a series of sharp metallic groans.
Once she was done, Chloe looked down as she gave the cut section a kick. The chunk of floor broke free and dropped away, revealing another containment cell directly beneath her. Chloe stared down into it for a moment, then slowly looked back at the hole she'd just made. Okay, so I guess I have to do this a couple more times.